Record turtle nesting season underway at Holden Beach — if the heat doesn’t derail it

By Bill Murray

HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. (WECT) – Volunteers with the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Patrol are seeing record-setting nest counts this summer even as relentless July heat raises concerns about hatchling survival and the people spending nights on the sand to protect them.

Much of the work happens while most beachgoers sleep. On a recent overnight shift, a small patrol crew raked the beach smooth and posted nest signage, routine prep that helps volunteers spot fresh tracks at first light and identify new nests that need to be marked and monitored.

Nest numbers up sharply from last year

Steve McNeil, the patrol’s project coordinator, said the season has already eclipsed last year’s total.

“Last year we had 35-26 nests, this year, we’re already up to 69,” McNeil said.

The heat is taking a toll across the beach, McNeil said — including on volunteers and visitors.

“The heat impacts a lot of people, even the vacationers, a lot of people saying it’s just too hot to be out here,” he said.

Heat can shift turtle sex ratios

Patrol members say the temperature of the sand does more than make the work uncomfortable: It can influence the sex of the hatchlings. Sand above 85 degrees increases the likelihood of female hatchlings, a concept volunteers sum up with a beachside saying: “Hot chicks, cool dudes.”

Deva Tucker, the patrol’s president, said prolonged heat without rain could skew those ratios over time.

“It’s gonna be hotter, deeper without the rain to bring some cool air and bring some cooler temperatures in, it can definitely sway the ratio of male to female and over the years that definitely could be a problem if you have more females,” Tucker said.

Cooked eggs a documented concern

Donna McGowan, who has volunteered with the patrol for 17 years, said extreme heat could produce troubling findings during nest excavations.

“It’s very troublesome when you go in to excavate and inventory, and you see some unhatched eggs, and you open it, and it looks like it’s been cooked,” McGowan said.

She said the patrol has not seen that so far this season.

Volunteers sometimes relocate nests if they are laid in vulnerable areas — such as below the tide line — or if a turtle cannot clear a steep escarpment, patrol members said. Otherwise, they leave nests in place and monitor them through the incubation period.

Volunteers say turtles are resilient

Volunteer Beth Baker says the turtles’ instincts help them manage conditions that are harder on the humans monitoring them.

“Their intuition, their instinct tells them what to do. So they manage somehow. I would say we suffer more than the turtles do, that’s my guess,” Baker said.

To learn more about the mission of the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Patrol and how to get involved, click here.

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